The Public Policy Committee

Public Policy Committee Mission

To encourage two-way communication between community psychologists and policy makers; to collaborative relations with other groups to work on policy activities; to assure that the exencourage periential and empirical knowledge base of community psychology is used to make substantive contributions to contemporary policy debates at the state and federal levels; to create opportunities for training; and to encourage academicians and others who lack policy experiences to familiarize themselves with the policy process through both traditional (classroom, conferences) and field-based (internship/externship) training experiences.

SCRA's Public Policy Small Grants program supports ongoing efforts to increase alternatives to incarceration

Daniel Cooper and Ryan Lugalia-Hollon are working to increase awareness of alternatives to incarceration in Chicago, Illinois, and they were recipients of a grant from the Public Policy Small Grants program. "We hand out harsh sentences for all types of offenses. We give these sentences, overwhelmingly, to Chicagoans who live in our segregated, low-income neighborhoods." "Justice Reinvestment is an approach that identifies key drivers of state incarceration rates, and develops practical solutions to reduce or altogether eliminate those drivers." Read more about their work at the website Chicago's Million Dollar Blocks project.

SCRA Adopts Policy Statement on Recovery Houses

SCRA is pleased to announce the adoption of our first public policy statement, The Role of Recovery Residences in Promoting Long-term Addiction Recovery. Recovery Residences are lower cost, community-based residential environments that require abstinence from substance use and abuse. The Society of Community Research and Action has developed, with the executive, advocacy and research committees of the National Association of Recovery Residences (NARR), a policy statement on the value of recovery residences in the United States.

The video below features Leonard Jason discussing the collaboration between DePaul University and Oxford House, a non-profit organization that supports recovery houses.

On This Site

Position statements are one means SCRA uses to communicate its perspective on pressing social issues and matters of public health and well-being. The goal of such statements is to provide clear, succinct summaries of scientific research and accumulated knowledge from practice accompanied by recommendations to policy makers and the general public.

The purpose of this process is to provide a mechanism for SCRA, as an organization, to evaluate and potentially adopt public stances or action plans on public policy issues of a time sensitive nature. Since policy issues are often of immediate concern, this procedure is written to ensure the opportunity for a quick response by the organization.